By: OrePulse

Tertiary Minerals plc will begin a new phase of deeper diamond drilling at its Mushima North silver-copper project in Zambia, aiming to test whether mineralization extends beneath the shallower zone the company has already drilled.

The company said the program, confirmed on October 29, will use as many as four drill holes for a combined 1,000 meters of diamond drilling, targeting a depth of about 200 meters. That is deeper than the 125 meters reached in the company's recently completed Phase 4 drilling at the site, which used reverse-circulation rather than diamond drilling. The upcoming campaign will be the company's first use of diamond drilling at Mushima North.

Tertiary Minerals said the four-week program is intended to determine whether mineralization continues beneath the Discovery Zone, the main target area at Mushima North, and whether it points to a higher-grade primary sulphide deposit at depth. The samples recovered will also support metallurgical and technical test work, and the company expects initial results from the laboratory within six to eight weeks of submission.

The Discovery Zone already carries a previously disclosed exploration target of 15 million to 30 million tonnes at a grade of 40 to 60 grams per tonne silver equivalent, according to the company. Earlier drilling also outlined a zone of higher-grade mineralization spanning roughly 400 by 150 meters at surface, which the company said remains open at depth.

Managing director Richard Belcher said the company has already completed more than 3,600 meters of reverse-circulation drilling this season to support its Mineral Resource Estimation work. "We are very excited to be back drilling again this field season at the Discovery Zone," he said.

Belcher said final laboratory results from the Phase 4 drilling are due imminently. "With the last of the laboratory results for the recent Phase 4 drilling due imminently, we are then positioned for a very strong finish to this year's Zambian field season," he said.

Tertiary Minerals is aiming to complete a maiden resource estimate for Mushima North before the end of 2026, pending the results of the current drilling and assay program. The company has framed the deeper drilling as a key step toward defining the scale of mineralization at the Discovery Zone ahead of that estimate.